Abstract
A real-space imaging of a local thermal vibration anomaly in a solid has been demonstrated for the first time, through atomic-resolution annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscope (ADF-STEM) observations of an Al72Ni20Co8 quasicrystalline compound. Significant changes of ADF-contrast depending on the observation temperature as well as the scattering angle ranges are found to be obvious at some particular Al atomic sites. The origin of this anomalous ADF-contrast is explained fairly well by the thermal diffuse scattering (TDS) intensity change due to different values of temperature (Debye-Waller) factor, which is defined by mean-square thermal vibration amplitude of the atoms.
